Main
Rich Pauloo
I am a hydrogeologist and data scientist with a background in numerical modeling of subsurface contaminant transport. My interests bridge hydrogeology, sustainability, and the role of technology in advancing water resources science and management.
My background is in hydrogeology (numerical models, statistical methods, optimization, mapping), computing (cloud computing, sensor networks, open source software development), and physics (mathematical and numerical modeling, contaminant transport).
I have coded workflows that stream real-time data from remote sensor networks, built dashboards to bring clarity to massive datasets, developed physical simulation models of groundwater flow and contaminant transport, made visualizations to improve machine learning interpretability, and built R packages.
Education
PhD, Hydrogeology
University of California Davis
Davis, CA
2020 - 2015
- 3D physical simulation of groundwater flow & solute transport.
- NSF fellow in Climate Change, Water, and Society IGERT.
- Elected Graduate Student Assembly representative.
- Built groundwaterstatement.org, signed by over 1,000 groundwater experts worldwide.
B.S., Integrative Biology (minor in Conflict Resolution)
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
2011 - 2006
- Delivered departmental commencement speech to ~ 5,000 people.
Professional & Research Experience
Hydrogeologist
Larry Walker Associates
Berkeley, CA
present - 2020
- Project management, stakeholder outreach and communication, workplan development.
- Hydrologic data science, programming to support real-time sensor networks and dashboards, ad hoc scientific analysis.
Data Engineer
UC Water
Davis, CA
2020 - 2018
- Built a data processing pipeline and web dashboard for real-time groundwater data via a wireless sensor network. View paper.
Graduate Student Researcher
Fogg Lab
UC Davis
2020 - 2015
- Work with large hydrologic datasets, numerical groundwater flow and contaminant transport models, & network optimization models.
- Developed novel models of well failure, groundwater salinization, and contaminant transport in porous media.
- Regularly use R, Python, Git, Bash, MODFLOW, RW3D, Paraview, Illustrator, AWS, Linux, ArcGIS, Envi, LaTeX.
Data Lab Researcher
Computational Institute for Geodynamics (CIG)
UC Davis
2019 - 2018
- NLP, text mining, and network analysis in R on a corpus of ~600 PDFs.
- Developed an R Shiny dashboard to understand the corpus.
- Results published here.
Research Assistant
Fine Lab
UC Berkeley
2012 - 2011
- Experimental design, data collection, data analysis, and writing of a report on invasive plant species in Berkeley’s Strawbery Canyon.
Biological Research Assistant
Rizzo Lab
UC Davis
2012
- Collected and managed field data to study intersection of fire, drought, and Phytophthora ramorum, the Sudden Oak Death agent.
Biological Research Assistant
Sinervo Lab
UC Santa Cruz
2011 - 2010
- Backpacked to remote alpine field sites to deploy temperature sensors, and study climate change impacts to on the American pika.
- Identified & selected high-alpine field survey sites via satellite imagery.
Teaching & Leadership Experience
Before pursuing my PhD, I spent 3 years teaching diverse audiences in environmental education. I worked in Yosemite, Thailand and the Marin Headlands, and honed skills in public speaking, interpersonal team development, group facilitation, and critical listening. Living with my coworkers in tight teams taught me patience and cooperation. During summers I guided expeditions in the wilderness and abroad with National Geographic.
Expedition Leader
National Geographic & Adventures Cross Country
Thailand
2016 - 2015
- Coordinated all aspects of multi-week international travel.
- Facilitated teambuilding, group dynamics, and cultural integration.
Site Manager & Educator/Guide
NatureBridge
Yosemite & the Marin Headlands, CA
2015 - 2013
- Coordinated with Operations to run a 200-student, 60 employee campus, which involved frequent public speaking.
- Lived and worked with a close team.
- Trained in wilderness guiding and backcountry safety.
- Served as primary liaison between the organization and clients.
Environmental Science Educator
San Mateo County Office of Education
La Honda, CA
2013 - 2012
- Designed cirriculum & taught science to diverse students.
- Worked and lived with a close team of educators.
- Frequent improvisational public speaking to large audiences.
Grants and Awards
Microsoft AI for Earth (national)
$37,571
N/A
2019
- AI-enabled forecasting of domestic well failure.
AGU Outstanding Student Presentation (national)
$200 and free 2020 registration
N/A
2019
- Awarded to the top 3-5% of presenters. View presentation.
2019 California Water Data Challenge (statewide)
$1,500
N/A
2019
- Created calwaterquality.com, a statewide data portal that integrates and visualizes massive water quality data sets, and auto-generates water quality reports for more than 2,000 California public water systems.
- Blog post about the project summarizing my motivation.
NASA Data Visualization Competition (national)
$1,400
N/A
2018
2018 California Water Data Challenge (statewide)
$1,500
N/A
2018
- Used large state databases to build and calibrate a predictive model of domestic well failure in California’s Central Valley.
NSF-GRFP Honorable Mention (national)
N/A
N/A
2016
NSF-IGERT in Climate Change, Water and Society (national)
$111,000
N/A
2015
Selected Publications, Posters, and Talks
Mean flow direction modulates non-Fickian transport in a heterogeneous alluvial aquifer-aquitard system
Water Resources Research (in review)
N/A
2020
- Pauloo, R. & Fogg, G.E. & Guo, Z. & Harter, T.
Development of a remote sensing based method to estimate changes in groundwater storage
Water Resources Research (in review)
N/A
2020
- Ahmed, A. & Pauloo, R. & Knight, R. & Melton, F.
A low cost, open source wireless sensor network for real-time groundwater monitoring
N/A
2020
- Calderwood, A. & Pauloo, R. & Yoder, A. & Fogg, G.E.
Domestic Well Vulnerability to Drought Duration and Unsustainable Groundwater Management in California’s Central Valley
Environmental Research Letters, 10.1088/1748-9326/ab6f10
N/A
2020
- Pauloo, R. & Dahlke, H. & Escriva-Bou, A. & Fencl, A. & Guillon, H. & Fogg, G.E.
Assessing Impact of Outreach through Software Citation for Community Software in Geodynamics
Computing in Science & Engineering, 10.1109/MCSE.2019.2940221
N/A
2019
- Hwang, L. & Pauloo, R. & Carlen, J.
Anthropogenic Basin Closure and Groundwater SALinization (ABCSAL)
Journal of Hydrology, 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125787
N/A
2019
- Pauloo, R. & Fogg, G.E. & Guo, Z. & Harter, T.
An Overview of Domestic Well Vulnerability in California’s Central Valley: Opportunities for Informed Risk Assessment
California Environmental Protection Agency
Sacramento, CA
2019
- Pauloo, R.
Hydraulic gradients modulate non-Fickian transport in heterogeneous porous media
American Geophysical Union
San Francisco, CA
2019
- Pauloo, R. & Fogg, G.E. & Guo, Z. & Henri, C.V.
Anthropogenic Basin Closure and Groundwater Salinization
Chapman Conference on Aquifer Sustainability
Valencia, Spain
2019
- Pauloo, R. & Fogg, G.E. & Guo, Z. & Harter, T.
An Interactive Mapping Interface to the California Online State Well Completion Report Database
UC Water Annual Meeting
Sacramento, CA
2018
- Pauloo, R.
The Past Present and Future: Long-term climate trends and water management history in California
Water Scarcity in the West
Davis, CA
2015
- Pauloo, R. & Pinheiro, M.
Selected Data Science Writing
I regularly write about data science, visualization, machine learning, and hydrology on my blog.
Race to the Bottom
Exploratory data analysis and science journalism California well construction trends.
N/A
2019
Certifications
Wilderness First Responder
N/A
National Outdoor Leadership School
N/A
Software Carpentry Instructor
N/A
Software Carpentry
N/A